Owl Have You Know

Season 1, Episode 20

This episode is part of a set of short interviews which were recorded during Alumni Reunion Week 2021. Be sure to listen to the other two Alumni Reunion Week episodes. Matthew Marand '20 joins host David Droogleever in the Owl's Nest.

Subscribe to Owl Have You Know on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

I vividly remember the day in early 2019 when the glass ceiling inside my mind broke open, thanks to my husband and my manager. They challenged my unconscious bias about working mothers settling for the status quo. I was intimidated by the thought of sacrificing family time for my career, let alone furthering my education with a second graduate degree. I learned that life is all about choices, many of which are temporary, and that some chances are worth taking, especially if they allow you to be part of something larger than yourself. 

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Why I Decided to Pursue an MBA

After a decade in engineering, I was in the same boat as many other professionals: debating between a technical and managerial career path. I pivoted to product management, which seemed to provide a happy medium for combining both skills. Soon after, I realized I needed to understand the commercial side of the business, including finance, accounting, how to generate value to customers and cash flow to the business. An MBA, I decided, was the tool I needed next to develop my career. Then, with the help of my husband and number one supporter, I created a detailed plan to manage the various responsibilities that were already on my plate. That included two toddlers, a demanding job, other family commitments and household chores. Speaking to a fellow mom who graduated from Rice a few years earlier helped me for the journey. 

Becoming a Rice Owl

I then applied to Rice Business. I chose Rice because I was sure that an MBA from a prestigious university such as Rice would broaden my horizon, open doors for leadership opportunities and help me realize my professional, personal and community goals. Within a few weeks, I received word: I'd been accepted. 

The first week of launch (Rice's program orientation) was the hardest. We all had to ramp up from zero to 60mph in what seemed like five seconds to keep pace with the curriculum. While reading numerous case studies (after years of non-focused reading) and loss of sleep were challenging, the excitement of meeting like-minded, Type A personalities, all wanting to make an impact on the world, was both energizing and inspiring. 

Staying focused on weekend classes after a hectic workweek was daunting at first. Still, the cohort experience, sense of camaraderie, post-class fun (known as PCFs) activities, and intensely engaging classroom sessions, thanks to world-class professors, made the days go by quickly.

The end of the first semester felt like a feat. The sense of accomplishment when I got my grades made going back to school, adapting to the rigorous schedule, lack of sleep, long days, longer team calls (and a few healthy conflicts) worth the effort. The guest lectures, team building events like the Rice Owl Bowl and 'Owl'ympics are just a few examples of the enriching experiences at Rice Business. 

Year Two

The next full year went by, thanks to the immense support from my phenomenal team of fellow students who accompanied me through lots of learning and relying on each other's strengths, both technical and soft skills (influencing, listening, critical thinking, negotiation and decision making). This team eventually became my closest set of friends that year. By graduation, they all knew the bedtimes of my kids and were used to waving them goodnight during weekly meetings. 

Challenges From COVID-19

Just when things were going quite smoothly, COVID-19 hit. 

The hardest part, for so many of us, was the family challenges. I had to be away from my son for a few months when travel restrictions turned a short visit to his grandparents in India into an extended stay. He loved it, but for me, it was a sacrifice I'm never willing to make again. This, combined with the guilt that came from seeing my daughter fall asleep by my desk several nights, wanting to just be with her mommy, were some of the hardest moments during the course. 

At Rice Business, there were so many people that helped smooth the way. I'm grateful to the entire Rice University team, including professors, the admin team, IT & support staff, and custodians, as well as the Jones Student Association for Professionals (JSAP) for their extra effort. They ensured we had a smooth transition to virtual schooling. While my cohort was disappointed about not visiting Argentina for the Global Field Experience or GFE (Rice University is one of the few schools to offer such an opportunity), virtual GFE taught us real-world management consulting experience. We learned how to make a positive impact on the bottom line of small organizations while also learning about their culture. 

The Last Semester

The final semester was nothing but rewarding. Rice Business requires a Capstone consulting project for a non-profit organization – something that opened my eyes to the possibility that the professional community can help serve the larger community by using our networks and skills. This was proven when the Texas winter storm hit and the entire Rice community stepped in to help our project team provide Houston with food, water and blankets. The ability to make a difference in the lives of people while applying management concepts was a profound experience for me. 

During the last semester, I also graduated from CoachRICE. This is a leadership coaching program from Rice's Doerr Institute that blends emotional intelligence training with proven coaching methodologies to help create effective leaders. CoachRICE helped train me to empower others to realize their full potential. It also helped me and my classmates set up a youth coaching program for high school students in partnership with an NGO, Amel Association Houston. 

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Navigating an MBA as a Parent 

If you are a parent considering an MBA (or another degree): Be present. Be intentional. Try to see the big picture. Don't compare your journey with those of other students. Stay optimistic. Practice self-care. Define what success means to you, express gratitude to your support system and share the learning with your loved ones – make it a collective journey. Most importantly, accept help and help others whenever you can. 

Looking back, was the experience challenging? Heck yeah. Expensive? Definitely. But the feeling of overcoming inhibition, breaking your own glass ceiling, being vulnerable, challenged, stretched, developing resilience, adapting quickly to stay in the game AND reaching the finish line: valuable for a lifetime. 

Rice Business offers a comprehensive MBA experience, equipping students with skills in leadership, professional development, and networking. If you're interested in a supportive community offering Professional MBA programs and MBA Leadership Skills, learn more about our programs.
 

Explore the Rice MBA

Jing Zhou, the Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Management and Psychology at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, has been elected as a fellow of the Academy of Management (AOM).

“(Zhou) joins a distinguished group of scholars (including two retired JGSB faculty, Jennifer George and Bob Hoskisson) to be recognized by the AOM for their significant contributions to the field of management,” wrote Jeff Fleming, deputy dean of academic affairs and the Fayez Sarofim Vanguard Professor of Finance at Rice Business, in a May 3 announcement to the JGSB. “This is a tremendous honor and one that is richly deserved.”

Zhou was nominated and elected for fellowship — the academy’s highest level of distinction — by sitting fellows. AOM has nearly 20,000 members from 120 countries. Members include professors and Ph.D. students from business schools around the globe, as well as academics in related social sciences and other fields.

Zhou is the organizational behavior area coordinator, director for Asian management research and education and director of the Ph.D. program at Rice Business. She has previously been elected a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Sciences and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

A recent study ranked Zhou among the most influential 1% of researchers in business and management. Her work has appeared in top journals, she has co-edited several books on creativity in management and she has built a systematic research program on workplace creativity and innovation.

Zhou has received the Journal of Management’s Best Paper Award twice and served as an editor of the Journal of Applied Psychology and as president of the International Association for Chinese Management Research.

Seven members of the Jones Graduate School of Business faculty were recognized for excellence in teaching at Rice University’s May 14 investiture ceremony at Rice Stadium. Honorees were chosen by the Rice MBA alumni group as well as by students in the Jones School’s MBA programs.

Brian Akins, associate professor of accounting, received the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching. Akins teaches financial accounting in the full-time and professional MBA programs as well as the Ph.D. program. His research focuses on financial reporting quality and the impact of accounting in debt and equity market settings.

Karthik Balakrishnan, associate professor of accounting, was honored with the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business MBA for Professionals Weekend Award for Teaching Excellence. His research investigates the economic consequences of corporate disclosure, financial reporting and disclosure regulations. Balakrishnan also is a recipient of the London Business School Excellence in Teaching Award.

The inaugural MBA@Rice Section Award for Teaching Excellence was presented to John Buffington, lecturer in management and finance. He is a senior forensic economist at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he investigates incidents that involve elements of fraud, disruptive trading, market manipulation or spoofing within the commodity markets.

Al Danto, lecturer in management, entrepreneurship and information technology, received the inaugural MBA@Rice Lead Award for Teaching Excellence. Danto is managing partner of the Danto Group, which advises the owners of privately held companies on developing and completing exit strategies, valuations and due diligence representation. Danto has previously won the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business MBA for Executives Award for Teaching Excellence.

Balaji Koka, associate professor of strategic management, received the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business Full-Time MBA Award for Teaching Excellence. Koka joined Rice Business in 2008 and teaches in the Executive MBA and Full-time MBA programs. He also received the Teaching Excellence Award from the EMBA program in 2014.

Kunal Sachdeva, assistant professor of finance, received the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business MBA for Professionals Evening Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2020, he won the 2020 Moskowitz Prize from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Prior to joining Rice, he completed a Ph.D. in finance from Columbia Business School and previously graduated from the MIT Sloan School of Management with a Master of Finance degree.

The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business MBA for Executives Award for Teaching Excellence was presented to Shiva Sivaramakrishnan, the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Accounting. He joined Rice in 2012 and has taught courses in management accounting and financial reporting for undergraduate, graduate, MBA and Executive MBA programs.

For more information about Rice Business faculty and their teaching and research, go to https://business.rice.edu/faculty-and-research.